


will you walk into my parlor?

by the_crownless_queen



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Gen, M/M, ice cream shop!au, secondhand bookshop!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-13 07:39:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12979269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_crownless_queen/pseuds/the_crownless_queen
Summary: Alec owns a secondhand bookstore. Magnus owns a new ice cream parlor, which just opened next door to Alec's bookstore. A week after opening his parlor, Magnus visits the bookstore and is charmed instantly by Alec, but decides not to reveal his identity right away when he hears Alec complaining about all the noisy kids his business draws.





	will you walk into my parlor?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aryn/gifts).



The Vanilla Bane Creamery is everything Magnus has ever dared to dream it could be.

It’s hard to imagine that three years ago, this had been little more than a daydream when he now stands inside his very own ice-cream parlor, ready to open its doors for the first time on the very next day.

Magnus smiles and runs a hand over the polished marble-like counter as he surveys the room.

In itself, the parlor is pretty small: there are only half a dozen tables meant to sit couples that line the walls, marking a clear way to the counter, and another set of higher seats overlooks the street through the shop’s windows.

This leaves plenty of space outside to put more tables if the weather allows it and Magnus would be lying if he said that that didn’t factor in when he chose this location months ago.

He had settled for light but colorful tones for the paint and decorations — creams and golds, mostly — and he has to admit that it works even better than he had thought it would. The room has the magical feel he was going for, and the blue-green swirls painted on the walls do remind him of ice and winter days, which he, for some reason, has always associated with ice-cream.

It’s perfect, really. A dream come true, and Magnus is more eager to open the doors with every passing second.

The clock overhead ticks on slowly and Magnus decides to do another check of the freezer. He knows he won’t find anything wrong — he’s been there five times this afternoon — but everything has to be perfect for tomorrow, and he has nothing else to do.

Really, the only thing left is for this day to end and the next one to start, if only so that Magnus can stop pacing and fretting over what he’s been assured is “a perfectly fine place”.

As expected, Magnus finds nothing wrong with the freezer. Eyeing the colorful tubs of ice cream already made does start to make him salivate though, so he leaves before he can convince himself that he needs to check that every flavor tastes just right.

He’s psyching himself up for leaving and heading back to his new apartment — unfortunately located further away from The Vanilla Bane than he would have liked — when the door swings open, allowing the familiar figure of one of his best friends.

“Catarina?” Magnus asks, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

Catarina, her nurse credentials still hanging around her neck, looks at him disappointedly. “You know, when Ragnor told me ‘you should go check on Magnus, because God knows that without us he’ll just spend all day in his new place rearranging napkins’, I thought he was joking.”

“Hey, now, I wasn’t ‘rearranging napkins’,” Magnus protests.

“Right, because you’re clearly not stressing out over some _other_ insignificant detail today,” she retorts, and yes, okay, she does have a point.

“I just need this to be perfect, Cat. Tomorrow has to be perfect.”

Catarina’s brown eyes soften but her tone stays just as firm. “It will. Now stop worrying and go home — you’ll need all the energy you can get tomorrow.”

Magnus smiles gratefully, feeling tension unwind from his shoulders. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” she replies with a huff. “But really, let’s go — don’t make me drag you out of here.”

It’s not an idle threat. Magnus knows his friend well enough to now know that she doesn’t say things she doesn’t mean and that she’s perfectly capable of following through with that promise.

With a sigh, he says, “Just let me close up then.”

* * *

The first week goes even better than Magnus had expected. They don’t run out of ice cream, but only just — though Magnus suspects that this rush will calm down a bit once the air cools down a little.

Opening day was a success. Creating a Facebook event for it had really been the best idea.

Ragnor had mocked him about it for days until he had seen that several hundred participants had signed up for it, all seemingly eager to come and try out his ‘buy one scoop, get one for free’ welcoming offer — now he mocked Magnus for having been too successful that day.

With the summer well underway and the overwhelming heat outside a boon to their sells, giving them much better publicity than Magnus could have by trying, Magnus has high hopes for this season.

The Vanilla Bane’s location helps in this too, as Magnus had hoped it would.

The park nearby draws out plenty of children, who, exhausted and hungered by hours of playing outside, drag their parents to Magnus’ ice cream shop for something sugary and cold; and the street sees plenty of traffic otherwise, with teenagers or adults simply looking for something refreshing after spending so long subject to the summer heat.

He’s very glad he thought to hire some help though. His vision had first started with only himself at the helm of this venture, but Magnus knows now that he would have been overwhelmed quickly.

He’ll definitely need to look into more permanent hires once the summer ends, but for now, Maia and her boyfriend Simon are all the help he needs.

Maia’s really a godsent. She’d been the first to answer his ad for a vendor and the first who was not either an asshole nor a possible criminal. She takes no shit from anyone — always useful when dealing with clients — and she’d had been the one to suggest he hire Simon.

“He can be a bit of an idiot at times,” she had said with a fond smile, “but he’s clever and hardworking. And he’s doing an accounting degree, so he could help you with that. Give you more time to play around with your recipes.”

Magnus had rolled his eyes but agreed to the interview. Two days later, he had had a new employee.

Even if Maia had been right, and Simon _is_ a bit of an idiot.

“Is it going to be like that every day?” he moans with a dramatic sigh, wiping the counter with a wet towel.

“Considering it was like that yesterday and the day before that, _and_ the day before that, yeah, I think so,” Maia replies with a smirk. She starts piling up the ice cream as she talks. “And this is still way better than working at a bar — not drunk people to take care of, and the sticky tables smell _way_ nicer.”

Simon winces, his lips curled down in disgust.

“You have days off, you know,” Magnus interjects with a smile. He’s clearing away the tables, and while he agrees with Simon — the stickiness that comes from dried out ice cream _is_ disgusting — he also has to admit that Maia has a point.

Cleaning up after messy kids is so much better than cleaning up after drunken assholes.

“But then you’d be stuck here without me,” Simon retorts, pouting.

“And what a tragedy that would be,” Magnus drawls, rolling his eyes at the dark-haired man.

Maia huffs a laugh but obligingly pecks Simon's lips to cheer him up, and Magnus ignores the twinge of envy in his chest at the sight.

He doesn’t want this, doesn’t need love to be happy. He doesn’t.

But… It would still be nice to have someone stand by his side like that.

* * *

 

The little bell above the door to The Shadowhunters Chronicles, the secondhand bookshop Alec’s been managing ever since the previous manager more or less gave it to him, jingles, admitting another group of giggling kids, and Alec groans quietly.

It’s been a week since the ice-cream parlor next door opened and Alec has never seen these many kids in the neighborhood.

And don’t get him wrong — Alec’s glad for the uptick in customers, and he does like kids...

What he doesn’t like, however, is how loud those kids always are, and how they put hands sticky from the ice cream they bought at the parlor next door everywhere. More than once, he’s even had to politely ask them to go back outside until they were finished with their treats.

He hates having to do that. It always makes him feel like an asshole.

He seems to be in luck this time though — no sticky hands or ice cream in sight. The enthusiasm as the group peruses the books is nice, but the volume at which they do so makes him grimace.

His sister chuckles at his reaction. “Oh, lighten up, big brother, or people are starting to think you’re the Grinch.”

“What are you even doing here, Izzy? You don’t work here — I know because I’m not paying you,” Alec says, giving her a pointed look.

Izzy crosses her arms defensively — though the playful glint in her eyes betrays her amusement. “So what, I can’t keep you company now?”

“Of course you can. But don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Than annoy my big brother?” Izzy’s smirk is pure mischief, wrapped in evil. “Never.”

One of the kids, a girl wearing a flannel shirt probably two sizes too big for her, approaches the counter timidly, interrupting their banter.

Alec rings her purchases with a kind smile, then rolls his eyes as the girl runs back to her giggling group of friends.

“My brother, the charmer,” Izzy states with a low chuckle.

Alec rolls his eyes, grimacing.  “Me? Are you sure we’re not talking about Jace here? Also, they’re _kids_ , Izzy.”

If possible, Izzy’s grin only widens as she nudges him with her elbow. “They were totally ogling you — besides, you can’t pretend you never had a crush on someone older than you.”

Blushing, Alec sputters, “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“Sure you don’t.” Izzy smirks. She uncrosses her arms and leans in, patting him on the arm with a pitying pout. “But I know what this is — you need to get laid, Alec. Or,” she amends after a quick look at Alec’s unimpressed face, “get out a little more, at least.”

“I know!” she says, brightening. “You should come out with us tonight — don’t worry, we’re not going _clubbing_ ,” she adds, speaking over Alec’s concerns. “We’re just going to get a few drinks at a bar I know not far from here. The cocktails are to die for there, you’ll see.”

From the pleased smirk on Izzy’s lips, those cocktails aren’t the only reason why his sister likes the place so much.

“I can’t,” Alec tries. “I have work to do. Paperwork to fill, and I got some new books I need to categorize…” He trails off when Izzy only scoffs.

“Nothing urgent then.” She nods once, decisively. “Come on, Alec — when was the last time you went out for the night with us? When was the last time you did something just for fun?”

“This is fun,” Alec retorts, gesturing at the empty bookshop around them.

“It’s work, Alec,” Izzy says slowly, like she can’t believe she has to tell him that.

“I know that,” Alec replies. “But it’s also fun — I _love_ doing this, Izzy. Finding these used books, getting them new homes? This _is_ fun for me.”

Izzy’s eyes soften. “I know, and it’s great that you think that, but you can’t spend all your life surrounded with just _books._ They can’t replace people.”

Alec crosses his arms, scowling. “I’m not _replacing people with books_ , Izzy. I just — I’m not like you or Jace, I don’t need people like you do — I have you, I have our family. That’s enough for me. I’m happy like this.”

“But you could be _happier_.”

Alec bites his lips, not denying it. Izzy looks at him with pleading eyes, and Alec’s never been able to tell her ‘no’ when she looks at him like that.

He sighs. “Fine. I’ll go out with you and Jace tonight — but just for dinner, alright?”

“And drinks,” Izzy adds.

“And drinks,” Alec relents with another sigh.

“Perfect!” Izzy says, smiling cheerfully. She pulls him into a short hug, and though it’s awkward given both of their positions, Alec can feel her practically vibrating with happiness.

He smiles back, unable to resist sharing in his sister’s enthusiasm.

“I’ll text you the address,” she says, starting to ruffle through her back for her phone. “We wouldn’t want you to get lost and miss dinner, after all.” She looks at him wryly, and Alec doesn’t bother to avert his eyes.

It only happened the once, after all, and if his siblings had thought he would show when they were clearly trying to set him up on some kind of blind date, they didn’t know him at all.

Which reminds him…

“And no trying to set me up with one of your work friends — or Jace’s.”

He looks at her sternly and Izzy stares back innocently. “We would never.”

“Sure you wouldn’t,” Alec retorts with an eye roll.

The door opens again, this time admitting three boys, one of them trying to hide a melting ice cream cone behind his back. Badly.

“Seems like you have some work to do,” Izzy says with a slight smirk.

With a self-suffering sigh, Alec gets up.

“I’m guessing this means you want me to go?” she asks.

Alec shrugs. “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Don’t be late,” Izzy replies. Her eyes smile, but her tone is a warning.

“I won’t be,” Alec promises, even though he already regrets agreeing.

Izzy nods at him once before Alec walks toward his would-be customers.

By the time he’s dealt with them, as distasteful as it is, his sister is long gone.

* * *

The next day dawns bright and early, and Alec immediately regrets every choice he’s ever made. His head is pounding and his mouth tastes like something has died in it, and all he wants is to go back to sleep and ignore the world for a few hours.

Unfortunately, not only does he have to get up, but his alarm clock ringing is drilling a hole through his cranium.

As such, he’s understandably cranky when he opens The Chronicles that morning. Even the promise of a third cup of coffee isn’t enough to lighten his mood, though it will definitely help.

By ten am, though, he feels ready to commit murder. Or suicide. Or murder-suicide.

It’s his own fault, he knows — it’s a Saturday, he could just have stayed home for the day, or opened later, but that’s not the kind of person he wants to be.

He does regret that choice bitterly now, however.

The day finally brightens up around lunch, when Alec steps out to grab a bite to eat.

There’s a Subway half a block away, and hopefully, the walk and some air will do him good, and help clear away the last remnants of his hangover.

(He’s never letting Izzy and Jace pick his drinks again, that’s for sure.)

As has been the usual so far this summer, the sun shines very brightly.

Maybe that’s why Alec doesn’t notice the man until he walks right into him.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” he starts, and then the words dry up in his mouth.

The man he’s collided with is the most beautiful man Alec has ever seen. Smooth golden skin and warm brown eyes, and Alec suddenly becomes aware that he’s grinning stupidly, which probably isn’t the right reaction to this situation.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats, forcing his grin to recede. He doesn’t think it works quite like it should, but something is better than nothing. “I didn’t mean to…”

“No harm done,” the stranger interrupts with a playful wink. “I have to say, _you_ can walk into me any day. Why, I might even _fall_ for you.”

Alec gapes, and the man laughs as he extends his hand. “Was that too forward of me? I’m Magnus, by the way.”

“Alec.” The word trips from his tongue like an automatism. He blinks, frozen.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Alec,” Magnus says. He shrugs a little, Alec’s eyes drawn to the line of his biceps before he drags them up to his face.

“It was nice to meet you too,” Alec replies truthfully. And then, because his heart is racing in his chest just a little, and also because Izzy was _right_ , damn her, when she said books couldn’t replace people, he adds, “Have you eaten yet?”

Magnus’ delighted smile as he replies that, no, he hasn’t, tells him that he’s made the right choice.

If anyone had told Magnus that today, he’d meet someone in a scene straight from a rom-com, he’d have had them sectioned.

But Alec isn’t just _someone_. He’s handsome and interesting, brave but also refreshingly honest. Not to mention adorably awkward at times.

Like right now, as he tells Magnus that this is the best date he’s been on in awhile — if Magnus wants to consider this a date, of course.

As though Magnus would ever say no to that.

“Alec,” Magnus states dryly, “we’re eating lunch together in a park on a nice summer’s day, after you insisted on paying for both of us. If you want this to be a date, then it’s a date.”

“Good,” Alec replies, his grin blindingly bright. He tries to hide it by taking a bite of his sandwich, though he doesn’t quite succeed.

“So, Alec,” Magnus says after he takes his own bite of his sandwich, “is that short for anything? Alexander, perhaps?”

Alec swallows and licks his lips. “Ah, yes, that’s… How did you know?”

“Lucky guess.” Magnus shrugs. But tell me, Alexander, what do you do in life?”

“I own a secondhand bookstore — The Shadowhunters Chronicles,” he replies, his back straightening. With a proud smile, he points at a small shop they can just barely see from the bench they’re sitting on.

Magnus recognizes the small shop besides which he collided with Alec what already feels like so long ago, and he smiles.

“The previous owner left it to me,” Alec explains when Magnus asks. “I didn’t exactly plan on doing this for a living — it was a way to earn some money while I was in college, but I just…” He shrugs. “I always liked books, and I guess I couldn’t stand to see this place close up for good. I finished my degree and I’ve been here ever since.” He takes another bite out of his sandwich.

“It was brave of you, to take over the place when the previous owner left,” Magnus points out.

“I don’t know about brave,” Alec scoffs with a wry look on his face. “My siblings used to say it was a stupid choice — I think that might be more accurate. I certainly didn’t think it over as much as I should have, back then.”

“Seems like it worked out alright in the end, though,” Magnus retorts with a small smile. “Besides,” he adds, smile widening into a grin, “sometimes the best decisions you can make are the reckless ones.”

Alec huffs out a laugh, grinning back at him. “Sounds like you have some experience there.”

“I… might.” Magnus shrugs. “Why, are you interested in hearing it?”

Alec nods, surprisingly serious, and Magnus’ heart trips in his chest.

From there on, the conversation flows easily. Too easily, perhaps, considering they’ve only just met, but Magnus doesn’t care. Talking with Alec feels as natural as breathing, as vital as air.

They eat slowly just to prolong the conversation, even if Magnus is certain that they’re both painfully aware they can’t stretch their lunch break for much longer.

He might have texted Maia to tell her he would be taking a longer break today, and that she could leave early tonight in return if she wanted, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t stare at him judgingly all afternoon.

She was surprisingly good at that.

But it’s hard to worry about Maia when Alec is just about to finish relating an anecdote about the time he and his siblings got lost in the woods and decided they needed to become hunters — they had been found not two hours later, luckily. Before any of them managed to harm themselves trying to craft weapons.

Alec’s a surprisingly good storyteller, even if he doesn’t have Magnus’ flair for it. Somehow, though, he puts enough raw emotion in his stories to make them compelling and have Magnus hang onto his every word.

In return for the stories about his siblings, Magnus talks about Ragnor and Catarina, who, while not related to him by blood, are his family.

Like the time when he had roped his two friends into doing a magic number for a talent show where, since Catarina had refused to do it, Magnus had been the assistant to Ragnor’s magician. It hadn’t worked out as well as it could have, but the memory of those events never fail to make Magnus smile.

Alec’s brown eyes sparkle with interest and curiosity. “So, can you still do magic?”

Magnus shrugs, smiling mysteriously. “Maybe.”

“Show me then,” Alec replies.

Magnus startles. “What, now?”

“Why not?” Alec shrugs. “Unless you don’t think you can do it…” The doubtful look he sends Magnus’ way is betrayed by the teasing smile playing on his lips.

“Oh, I can do it,” Magnus purrs, leaning in.

Alec mirrors him, only arching an eyebrow at him.

Magnus smirks and lets his eyes flicker down to Alec’s lips. He makes the gesture slow, obvious to follow, and as expected, Alec’s attention is drawn to it.

He feels a twinge of regret at the deception and the way his own heart races at the thought of kissing those lips, but Alec’s rueful yet impressed laugh when Magnus leans back and pulls a coin from behind his ear makes up for it.

“Alright, alright.” Alec laughs. “You win this one — you _can_ still do magic.”

“It’s mostly sleight of hands,” Magnus admits as he tucks the coin back in his pocket. “Anything else and you need equipment I don’t have.”

“Well, I still think it’s impressive,” Alec retorts mulishly. His eyes shine with pure, raw honesty as he stares at Magnus. “I know I could never do it.”

“I’m sure you have plenty of other talents, though,” Magnus retorts, adding a wink for good measure.

As expected, Alec’s cheeks color pink, a sight which makes Magnus’ heart skip a beat in his chest.

“I might,” Alec replies before casually finishing the last of his food. “But anyway, you never told me what _you_ did in life.”

Magnus blinks, taken aback. Rewinding the conversation in his mind, though, he realizes that it’s true. Somehow, he got distracted by the conversation and forgot to mention what he did.

He chuckles. “Well, much like you, I also own my own business. In fact…” he trails off as a thought occurs to him.

“In fact what?” Alec asks, frowning.

“Nothing.” Magnus smiles. “I just thought… Well, we didn’t get dessert, and I wondered… Would you like getting some ice cream?” He nods toward his Creamery in a gesture he hopes is nonchalant.

Alec seems surprised by the offer, but not displeased.

“I haven’t had ice cream in ages,” Alec confesses as they walk. “I don’t think I can even remember the last time I had some.” He huffs out an embarrassed laugh, hand rubbing his neck before falling back to his side.

They walk close by, and just as they reach the entrance to The Vanilla Bane, their fingers graze. The feeling is electric and over way too soon, but even remembering it takes Magnus’ breath away.

The interior of the shop is much cooler than the street outside. It’s delightful, even if Magnus has to fight back a shiver.

Maia, at the counter, sends him an unimpressed look which Magnus returns with a pointed look at Alec standing by his side. She rolls her eyes at him but nods at him to join the queue with barely a scoff.

“It’s crazy that I’ve never been here,” he hears Alec say as they get in the queue.

“Really? Why?” Magnus asks. “You did just say you haven’t had ice cream in awhile, and we’ve - I mean, this shop’s only been open for a week.”

Alec grimaces, shifting on his feet awkwardly. “It’s not that,” he says, shrugging. “Oh, you’re going to think that it’s stupid -”

“I won’t,” Magnus promises.

“It’s just — this neighborhood used to be so much quieter before this place opened. The kids are _so loud_ , and there are _so many_ of them.” He shakes his head as they move up the queue, smoothly sidestepping as two kids run outside, cones in hand. “And they never wipe their hands before they try to touch the books.”

Magnus’ smile freezes on his face as Alec’s rant goes on, and he sends Maia a panicked look.

 _‘Don’t mention who I am,’_ he mouths at her.

 _‘Why?’_ her frown asks.

 _‘I’ll explain later,’_ he promises silently, just before the queue moves up and it’s finally their turn.

“Hello,” Magnus greets Maia cheerfully.

Maia grins back. “What will it be today?”

Magnus rattles off his usual order — he’s got his favorites flavors, after all — before turning to Alec, who looks a little embarrassed at his earlier outburst. “What flavors do you want?”

Alec shrugs, eyes roaming over the choices in front of him. He looks a little lost as he stares back at Magnus. “What would you suggest?”

“What do you like?” Magnus counters, and Alec’s lips twitch up in a smile.

“I don’t know. I told you, I haven’t had ice cream in ages.”

“Surely you have some idea, though.”

“Not really.” Alec shrugs. “Why don’t you choose for me?”

Magnus eyes him carefully, but Alec only smiles back at him expectantly. “Any allergies?” he finally asks, relenting.

Alec’s smile widens. “Not to anything here,” he replies, shaking his head.

“Alright then.” Magnus turns back to Maia, who gives him an amused look. “He’ll take the same as me.”

Moments later, Maia hands them two cones and they walk back outside. The warm air feels stifling after the coolness inside, and Magnus delights in eating some of his ice cream to cool down.

He looks up just in time to witness Alec _bite_ into his own cone, and he gapes.

“What is it?” Alec asks, frowning as he notices him staring. He licks his lips, wiping away the raspberry ice cream that stained his lips moments ago. Magnus’ chest grows tight.

“Nothing,” he replies. “Just… Didn’t that hurt? To bite it,” he adds when Alec only looks confused by the question.

His face clears up. “Oh, no. I mean, not really? It was just cold.” He looks away for a moment. “I’ve always eaten it like this,” he says, demonstrating by taking another bite. “Izzy used to tell me I was crazy for it.” He chuckles fondly, drawing a smile to Magnus’ lips at the sound.

Izzy’s his sister, Magnus remembers. The wild one of the family, too, from what it sounds like.

“Anyway, what do you think of the ice cream?” he asks, taking a slow lick of his own cone.

From the way Alec’s eyes narrow, the gesture doesn’t go unnoticed.

“It’s really good,” Alec replies with a huff. “Better than I expected,” he admits.

“I got you my favorite flavors of the moment.” Magnus laughs. “Raspberry, apricot and vanilla.”

“Vanilla?”

“It’s a classic,” Magnus replies. His eyes flicker up to the sign for the creamery. “And sort of a specialty here, I guess.”

Alec laughs. “You’re probably right,” he says, and Magnus fights back the urge to tell Alec that, actually, he definitely is.

Vanilla was the first ice cream he ever tasted, then the first one he ever made himself, and even though he’s experimented with plenty of other tastes since then, that first vanilla recipe is still the one he goes back to every time.

He could tell Alec, he thinks, heart beating wildly in his chest. He could say ‘this is the business I own, the one I was telling you about’.

But something holds him back.

He remembers the way Alec’s lips had curled down into a grimace as he talked about the kids the Creamery had brought to the neighborhood, and part of Magnus doesn’t want Alec to know that it was _Magnus’_ Creamery that did that.

He doesn’t want the way Alec looks at him, all warm looks and soft smiles, to change.

So he doesn’t say anything, and walks Alec back to his shop as they slowly eat their dessert, watching with an amused smile the way Alec wipes his hands clean with a paper towel before unlocking the doors to his bookstore.

Alec lingers in the doorway. “This was… nice. I- When can we do this again?”

Once again, Alec’s abrupt honestly surprises him.

Magnus runs over his schedule in his mind. His day off is tomorrow, but he unfortunately has other plans — he’d reschedule, but then his friends would never let him hear the end of it — and he doubts that he’ll be able to take another lunch break this long for a while yet.

Still… “As long as we don’t stay out as long as we did today, I’m free for getting lunch every day next week.”

Alec huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, we should probably avoid that.”

“We should,” Magnus says with much the same tone. His eyes flicker down to Alec’s lips at the same time as Alec’s flicker to his, and Magnus smiles.

He’s not sure who leans in first, but the world fades away when Alec’s lips touches his.

They still taste faintly of the ice cream they’ve had — primarily vanilla, though Magnus can still taste the other two too.

He abstently wonders what flavors Alec tastes on his lips, and then he stops thinking entirely.

When they break apart for air, Magnus leans back, a little dazed.

“That was…” Alec says, a little breathless. His pupils are blown wide and something in Magnus’ stomach thrills. _I did that_ , he thinks proudly. I _did that._

“Yeah,” Magnus echoes, equally breathless.

It takes him a few moments to gather himself. When he does, he holds out his hand to Alec. “Give me your phone.”

Silently, Alec digs through his pockets and hands Magnus a smartphone that still looks brand new.

 _Of course it does_ , he thinks, rolling his eyes inwardly. He types in his number quickly, and hands the phone back to Alec.

“Text me so I have your number,” he says.

“Magnus Bane,” Alec enunciates, reading the contact info out loud.

“That’s me,” Magnus confirms.

His smile falters when Alec pales. “ _Bane_ ,” he repeats, his eyes suddenly looking up and past Magnus. “Like in _The_ _Vanilla Bane Creamery_?”

“Ah, yes,” Magnus replies, smiled pulled taught on his lips. “Surprise?”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I said that, I didn’t mean to- Well, I did, because it’s true that these kids never used to be so much of a bother today, but honestly I-”

Magnus hovers a finger over his lips, cutting him off before Alec can spiral any further.

“It’s alright,” he says. “I should have told you before — and I suppose that in a way, you _are_ right. I imagine it must be inconvenient to have people with sticky hands in your shop.”

“Still,” Alec replies ruefully, “I was probably out of line. It’s hardly your fault what the kids do after they leave your place.”

“Probably?” Magnus teases.

“Fine, definitely,” Alec replies with a huff, his eyes laughing. “Forgive me? I promise I don’t really hate your Creamery.”

Magnus pretends to think about it for a few moments, but he’s unable to make it last for long when Alc looks so concerned over it.

“I forgive you. of course I forgive you.”

Alec’s answering smile is so bright it could outshine the sun, and the kiss that follows more than proof enough that Magnus made the right choice here.


End file.
